1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to artificial flies used in fishing, and a method of making those flies. More particularly, this invention relates to fishing flies and a method of making fishing flies which utilizes a water borne acrylic emulsions to form simulations of the body parts of insects, and which allows the attachment of body parts without the need for tying.
2. Background
There are many different styles of fishing and many of them involve the use of a lure, spinner, artificial fly or other attractant. Fly fishing is a style of fishing in which a very light weight xe2x80x9cflyxe2x80x9d is attached to the end of a fishing line. The word xe2x80x9cflyxe2x80x9d is used to describe the device which attracts the attention of the fish and causes it to strike. This xe2x80x9cflyxe2x80x9d can be a construction which is designed to simulate the general shape, color, size, and look of a fly or other insect which is in the fish""s environment. However, the use of the word xe2x80x9cflyxe2x80x9d is not intended to limit the invention to devices which simulate a fly. Other insects than flies and other creatures than insects are simulated and their simulation is still called a fly. This can include beetles, grasshoppers, bees, ants, larval stages of insects, insect larval cases, fish eggs, shrimp, frogs, mice, worms, spiders and other fresh and salt water creatures. When used in fly fishing, all of these artificial fish attractants are described as the xe2x80x9cflyxe2x80x9d.
In fly fishing, the fishing line at the point of attachment to the fly is typically monofilament and very fine, and gradually tapers to a thicker diameter toward the fisherman. The portion closest to the fisherman is typically a thicker and heavier section of line, is colored and opaque, and may float on water or sink, or just the tip may sink. This heavier line is threaded through the eyelets on a fishing pole and is wound on a fishing reel which is held near the fisherman""s hand on the pole. Using the fly fishing method of fishing, the rod, which is a very flexible device of varying lengths and diameters, is used in a whip-like fashion to extend the heaviest section of fishing line to a point where the fisherman believes the fish may see the fly or be in hiding in wait for food. The rod is used to whip the heavy line back and forth until enough line is extended that if it is allowed to drop to the water, the fly will be in proper position in front of the fish. Because of the whipping action of fly fishing, the fly must be very light in weight, since it is the heavier portion of the line which is cast, and the fly is just carried along with it. The light weight of a fly does not interfere with whipping the line back and forth, and also allows certain flies to float on top of the water and not sink beneath the water. This floating action aids in the simulation of natural insects and results in a more natural presentation to the fish. Because of the need for light weight materials in the fly so that it can be whipped back and forth with the line and so that it will lay on the water without sinking like its natural counterpart would, flies are typically made using extremely light weight material such as animal hair, birds"" feathers, and sometimes foam for wings. Other flies are designed to sink, and may even have weight attached to aid in sinking.
The use of hand-tied simulations of insects on a hook, used to catch fish has been well known for centuries, and thousands of patterns exist. Each pattern is made of a variety of materials and any particular pattern may specify hair or feathers taken from specific species of animals, as well as from a specific body part of those animals.
Several strategies in the design of fishing flies have evolved. One strategy is to make the artificial fly look and react as similar to a natural insect as possible. To achieve this, feathers, hair, plastic, various types of string, beads, lead strips, and other materials are tied to the hook to simulate a specific species of insects, including their wings, head, eyes, thorax, wing covers, legs and antennae. Other creatures in the fish""s natural environment are also simulated using artificial flies. These include the eggs of fish, insects, insect larvae, larval cases, small mammals such as mice, shrimp, frogs, dragon flies, worms, minnows, bait fish and crustaceans.
Another strategy in preparing flies for catching fish is not to closely simulate an insect/other in their environment, but to create a garish insect-like artificial fly which stimulates the fish to strike at it, either when protecting the fish""s spawning territory, or in hostile response to the approach of the artificial fly.
What all artificial flies have in common is that they are tied to the hook using knots and some type of string. This is time consuming and requires good eyesight, knowledge of knots, a potentially vast inventory of a variety of materials and tools for tying material on the hook. This technique also presents a problem when trying to simulate certain body parts of an insect""s/other anatomy through the use of tied fur, feathers or string. For instance, when tying an artificial fly which resembles a grasshopper, simulating the grasshopper""s hind legs, with their thick thighs, bulbous knee joint, and back-turned foot, is difficult. Antennae bulbs of an insect are also difficult to simulate using hair and feathers.
To create flashy colors which cause a fish to strike at it out of a protective instinct or from an aggressive instinct, various threads, strings, films, tape and tinsel are used which can be luminescent, fluorescent, neon, pearlescent, reflective, shiny or glittery. Such materials are used in various combinations to create any shape, pattern, or color desired. Achieving these simulations is time consuming and intricate work and still requires tying and a large inventory of materials.
Another problem created by traditional fly tying methods is that when a body part on the fly is a large and bulky body part, the typical fly tying materials which are used to simulate this body part are such things as thread, pile, fur, feathers, etc. These materials are water absorbent and cause the body of such a fly to become heavy when it is water logged. This results in difficulty when casting, since the basis of casting in fly fishing is to cast the heavier portion of the line, rather than the fly. The fly must be very light in weight so as not to interfere with the casting of the line. A bulky fly which is soaked with water may interfere with proper casting technique.
Sometimes it is desirable that a fly sink quickly. For instance, if a person is casting upstream he might want his fly to sink quickly to the bottom of the river or stream to a depth at which the bigger fish are likely to see it. To facilitate this fast sinking, weights can be incorporated into the design of the fly in the form of beads of lead, bismuth, or other heavy material. Sometimes a fisherman may decide in the field that he needs more weight in a fly, and he can attach strips of thin weighted material such as lead, bismuth or other materials. Either weighted beads or weighted strips are usually tied on to the fly to add weight. The tying is time consuming, and can result in a fly with an un-natural appearance.
Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a method of making artificial flies which allows water borne acrylic emulsions to be used to simulate body parts of the creature being simulated without the use of tying knots with thread.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of making artificial flies in which body parts of the flies are of the desired color and shape, are light in weight, and do not absorb water.
Another object of this invention is to eliminate the need of a large inventory of fly tying materials in order to tie a wide variety of flies.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method by which traditional fly tying materials can be dyed to any desired color, or by the use of glitter, can be made to appear speckled.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of securing and disguising beads, strips or threads of material added to the fly for weight.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of anchoring and covering beads or pieces of lightweight material such as foam, which are added for buoyancy.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for creating fishing flies utilizing a water borne acrylic emulsion, which results in flies which have the durability to be in the water without dissolving.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for creating fishing flies utilizing water borne acrylic emulsion which creates buoyancy effects in the fishing flies by the formation of bubbles within the water borne acrylic emulsion structures.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cure and heat treatment method for increased durability of the water borne acrylic emulsions used in making flies.
These objects, along with others, are accomplished by the use of water borne acrylic emulsions, of the type used on fabrics and crafts, to color parts of a fly, create simulations of body parts on fishing flies and to serve as the xe2x80x9cgluexe2x80x9d in which appendages are anchored. These types of paints are waterborne acrylic emulsions. Although water borne, the acrylic emulsion can be made somewhat waterproof with adequate drying, and when dried is reasonably waterproof. The water borne acrylic emulsion, semi waterproof when dried, can be applied using a small brush or other suitable tool. By the use of a cure and heat treatment step, flies made by the invention become quite waterproof, and durable enough for extended use in the water.
With the use of a curing step and a heat treatment step, bubbles can be formed in the clear water reducible borne acrylic emulsion, and those bubbles can be set by the appropriate heat treatment (temperature) and time (length of heat treatment) in order to achieve different floatation characteristics of the fly or body part, depending upon the types of materials being utilized to construct the fly and/or the body parts to be utilized in the construction of flies. These trapped bubbles of air create a buoyancy effect, causing the flies to float on the surface, or at various depths, depending upon the extent of bubble formation and entrapment. An alternate version of the invention results in flies which include membranous body parts, in which the membranes are formed from water borne acrylic emulsion paint with strengthening fibers spread throughout the membrane of water borne acrylic emulsion, and with entrapped bubbles optionally within the water borne acrylic emulsion based membrane and within the fibers. When bubbles are included in such a membrane, a buoyancy effect of the membrane is added to the fly. The membrane is made of a layer or layers of water borne acrylic emulsion acrylic paint mixed with fibrous materials, with or without bubbles, and can be used to form insect wings, wing covers, scoops for oscillation, or other body parts if rolled into a tube, shaped by compression, cut to the desired shape and/or shaped by a suitable mold, such as head, thorax and abdomen sections, legs, or antennae.
The water borne acrylic emulsion are mixed to achieve the desired color from a selection of colors, and applied to either the hook itself or to fly tying materials which are tied or attached to the hook. In this way, the water borne acrylic emulsions colors are formed into the head, thorax or abdomen of an insect on the hook, or colors or is formed into eyes on the head, or is formed into simulations of feet, knee joints, or antennae tips of the fly.
The water borne acrylic emulsion, after being mixed for color, can also be mixed with granules of a closed-cell foam material. This mixing results in a mass of foam and paint which can be shaped into larger body parts on the hook. When dry, the paint acts as a cement holding the foam granules together. Thus, the bulk of the body part is made of foam granules which are held together by dried water borne acrylic emulsion. The water borne acrylic emulsion imparts a color to the body part, and the foam granules provide the property of being lighter than water, very lightweight for casting, and non-absorbent. One type of foam which works especially well is granules or pieces of styrofoam. The use of other foams is also very practical to utilize foam""s characteristics to simulate an insect part.
When the water borne acrylic emulsion is cured and heat treated, the fly may be used for fishing. This method results in flies which have a different appearance than traditional flies, which may prove advantageous under certain conditions when fish are not accepting traditional flies. The method is also a means to modify traditional flies, or as a complete replacement for traditional flies. A kit of colors can be used in the field to color a neutral colored fly to match the insect which the fish are feeding on that day. The body parts of these flies more closely resemble real insects, in that they can have solid body parts rather than body parts made to look solid by the use of hair and feathers. Flies made using this method also can be made with fairly bulky body parts, but which are very light in weight and do not hinder the casting of the fly fishing line. Since these body parts are not water absorbent, they do not absorb water and become heavier for casting, as traditional fly-tying materials do. Flies made in this method can have realistic appearing appendages inserted or layered over into the water borne acrylic emulsion while it is wet, and these will be held firmly in place when the water borne acrylic emulsion is cured and heat treated.
Another aspect of the invention utilizes water borne acrylic emulsions to form and attach eye spots for insects/other. Layers of paint are added to a flat surface in concentric circles of different colors. The different colors form an eye spot. When the eye spots are cured for 3 to 6 hours, dried, they can be removed from the flat surface, which can be metal, glass, waxed paper or other surface to which the water borne acrylic emulsion does not permanently adhere. The eye spots can then be applied to a partially dry or dry body of a fly, with clear water reducible borne acrylic emulsion being used as a xe2x80x9cgluexe2x80x9d underneath the eye spot and around the edges, or covered completely. The fly can then be further cured, permanently affixing the eye spot to the fly body. The curing and heat treatment process can be utilized to complete fusion and/or attachment.
Flies made using the method of the invention can be made with beads, strips or pieces of material anchored to the body of the fly, and disguised as insect body parts, in which the beads, strips or other material are added for purposes of weight or buoyancy. Foam, wood, cork or plastic shapes can be attached for buoyancy, or blended into the water borne acrylic emulsion mix.